Lamentations 4:7

Lamentations 4:7 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Her Nazarites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was of sapphire:
• New International Version (NIV)Their princes were brighter than snow and whiter than milk, their bodies more ruddy than rubies, their appearance like lapis lazuli.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Her princes were purer than snow, whiter than milk; their bodies were more ruddy than coral, the beauty of their form was like sapphire.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Our princes once glowed with health— brighter than snow, whiter than milk. Their faces were as ruddy as rubies, their appearance like fine jewels.

Context of Lamentations 4:7

5Those who ate delicacies Are desolate in the streets; Those who were brought up in scarlet Embrace ash heaps. 6The punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people Is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, Which was overthrown in a moment, With no hand to help her! Her Nazirites were brighter than snow And whiter than milk; They were more ruddy in body than rubies, Like sapphire in their appearance. 8Now their appearance is blacker than soot; They go unrecognized in the streets; Their skin clings to their bones, It has become as dry as wood. 9Those slain by the sword are better off Than those who die of hunger; For these pine away, Stricken for lack of the fruits of the field.

Lamentations 4:7 word by word

זַכּ֤וּ נְזִירֶ֙יהָ֙ מִשֶּׁ֔לֶג צַח֖וּ מֵחָלָ֑ב אָ֤דְמוּ עֶ֙צֶם֙ מִפְּנִינִ֔ים סַפִּ֖יר גִּזְרָתָֽם׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Her Nazaritesנָזִירnâzîyr nâzir · NaziriteH5139
• were purerזָכַךְzâkak · be cleanH2141
• than snowשֶׁ֫לֶגsheleg · snowH7950
• they were whiterצָחַחtsâchach · be dazzlingH6705
• than milkחָלָבchâlâb · milkH2461
• they were more ruddyאָדֹם'âdam · to reddenH119
• in bodyעֶ֫צֶם‛etsem · bone: bodyH6106
• than rubiesפְּנִינִיםpânîyn pânîy · jewelH6443
• their polishingגִּזְרָהgizrâh · cutting/separationH1508
• of sapphireסַפִּירsappîyr · sapphireH5601

Cross-references for Lamentations 4:7

• Numbers 6:2“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When either a man or woman consecrates an offering to take the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the Lord,
• Judges 13:5For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.”
• Judges 16:17that he told her all his heart, and said to her, “No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”
• Amos 2:11I raised up some of your sons as prophets, And some of your young men as Nazirites. Is it not so, O you children of Israel?” Says the Lord.
• Luke 1:15For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
• 1 Samuel 16:12So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!”
• Psalms 51:7Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
• Psalms 144:12That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; That our daughters may be as pillars, Sculptured in palace style;
• Daniel 1:15And at the end of ten days their features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king’s delicacies.

Commentaries on Lamentations 4:7

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7Her Nazarites were purer than snow - נזיר nazir does not always signify a person separated under a religious vow; it sometimes denotes what is chief or eminent. It is applied to Joseph, Genesis 49:26. Blayney therefore translates here, Her Nobles. "Her nobles were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk; They were ruddier on the bone than rubies; their veining was the sapphires." On which he remarks: - "In the first line the whiteness of their skin is…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7The Nazarites from their temperance were remarkable for health and personal beauty, besides being held in religious veneration. Rubies - Or, corals. Their polishing was of sapphire - Or, their shape was “a sapphire.” The allusion is no longer to color, but to form. Their shape was exact and faultless as the cutting of a precious stone.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7their appearance like sapphires: (literally like lapis lazuli): Lapis lazuli is a beautiful blue stone. It is soft enough to carve and is often used in decorations and mosaics.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. Nazarites--literally, "separated ones" (Nu 6:2). They were held once in the highest estimation, but now they are degraded. God's blessing formerly caused their body not to be the less fair and ruddy for their abstinence from strong drink. Compare the similar case of Daniel, &c. (Da 1:8-15). Also David (1Sa 16:12; 17:42). Type of Messiah (So 5:10). rubies--Gesenius translates, "corals," from a Hebrew root, "to divide into branches," from the branching…Read the comment

Topics related to Lamentations 4:7

• Famine
• Fraternity
• Nazarite
• Ruby
• Snow

In the dictionaries

• Comparable
• Dim
• Poetry
• Ruby
• Stones, Precious
• Acrostic
• Alphabet
• Body
• Color; Colors
• Coral

Commentaries on Lamentations 4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings